FG at 1020 (?) on standard kit & kilo

[Benjaminrossboyd]

Hi All, after putting down a fairly standard kit & kilo and another at the same time (only with some grain steeping and dry hops) I have waited 15 days until I bottled. The visual fermentation (bubbling airlock) stopped after about 5 days so I was thinking I'm good to bottle. As I'm prepping to bottle I check the FG and it's around 1020, I checked the other batch I put down at the same time and it was also 1020 after the 15 days. What's going on ? I have put down 11 brews previously and not seen such a high FG.

By the way, I bottled it.

 

[manticle]

Why did you bottle it?

 

[manticle]

Standard kk at 1020 if measured properly with a hydrometer is dangerous, moreso if bottled in glass.
Got kids? Spouse? Pets? Eyes? Neigbours kids?

 

[Benjaminrossboyd]

Bottled it thinking that the hydrometer reading was incorrect. May have been a silly move ? I have all of the above but thinking I may surround my bottles with some armour ?

I am getting a second hydrometer to test tomorrow.

Will the bottles only explode if the gravity is still coming down ? What if it remained at 1.020 for days ?

 

[danestead]

If it is a normal kit and kilo of dextrose or sugar, it will continue to come down. 1.020 is very high for a standard kit and kilo. Dangerous.

If you have some digital scales capable of reading to at least 1g accuracy, you can check the calibration of your hydrometer.

Dissolve 10g of white sugar in 190g of distilled or RO water (tap water might be close enough to be honest). Pour that solution into your hydrometer test tube and it should read 1.020. You need that solution to be at the temperature your hydrometer is calibrated at. Usually 15 or 20 degrees and it often has it written on it.

 

[Mardoo]

I have all of the above but thinking I may surround my bottles with some armour ?

You absolutely do not want to **** around with bottle bombs. Full stop. I have scars to prove it. 10cm piece of glass buried 5cm deep in my leg through two layers of denim. My then-1-year-old daughter had been playing next to the crate 5 minutes before it exploded.

They can blow up at any time. Get them well and truly away from people, test your hydro, and if your 1.020 was correct you need to open them and either re-start ferment, which is a difficult route and not recommended, or open them all and dump them. It hurts, but not as much as you or someone you love ending up with lacerated hands or face or one less eye. There used to be a good thread on here showing the effects of bottle bombs, but I can't find it. Trust the folks who tell you not to take your chances. I didn't and learned.

 

[manticle]

Bottled it thinking that the hydrometer reading was incorrect. May have been a silly move ? I have all of the above but thinking I may surround my bottles with some armour ?
I am getting a second hydrometer to test tomorrow.
Will the bottles only explode if the gravity is still coming down ? What if it remained at 1.020 for days ?

Trust the hydrometer rather than the airlock in the same way you'd trust a tape measure over squinting and guessing. Then read Mardoo's post. Bang, glass, eye, ouch.

 

[Benjaminrossboyd]

Thanks for the advice guys. I have them isolated in a brick and metal cage. What about the fact that the hydro reading that I took over 72 hours remained static at 1.020? Why did this happen ? And how did it also happen with another fermenter I put down at the same time but with totally different ingredients ? Thanks again lads

 

[manticle]

Might have got cold or yeast was old/tired from an old or out of date kit. There's not much yeast in a tin anyway and yeast cells do die. The more deaths, the less living ones to do the job. Your yeast department may have been understaffed.

You really need to consider what final gravity to reasonably expect before giving credence to the stability of the gravity over a period of days.

 

[TheBigD]

if your hydrometer tests ok just remove all your caps and cover with some alfoil that's been sanitized with starsan and let them ferment out for two weeks at 24c then check FG, re-prime, recap and your good to go.

 

[Benjaminrossboyd]

Thanks Manticle and Big D, I like the advice. Meanwhile, I thought it could have been the change in weather ? The bottles have been down for a week and no explosions. Tested one for taste yesterday and was pretty good. I don't know what to think

 

[Grott]

When you opened it was there "excessive" gas release, did the bottle froth up, how did it pour? If all ok then perhaps there was a hydro reading problem.
Cheers

 

[Benjaminrossboyd]

Hey Grott. No excessive frothing or gas release, I just tasted from the bottle. I will pour one into a glass tomorrow. I have since tested the other brew that's put down at the same time (still in fermenter) and it still reads 1018 and it's been in there for about 4 weeks, and that was with a second hydrometer. I have no explanation but am thinking I may just get away with it (?)

 

[manticle]

Did you use any maltodextrin, dried/liquid malt extract, brew booster or lactose?

 

[Benjaminrossboyd]

I used 1x tin of Black Rock NZ Draught, 1kg of dry light malt extract, 100g chocolate grain (steeped) and some hops. Part of the puzzle also includes a 1x tin Tooheys Special Draught with 1kg dextrose put down at the same time, kept in the same location and is reading the same FG. My completely uneducated punt at an answer is some kind of temperature/environmental factor (?)

 

[manticle]

Dme and roast grain should produce a higher fg than straight kk (which is what you alluded to in the op - kit + kilo plain table sugar or dex).

If you have a kit with kilo of dex at 1020, either it hasn't finished or your measuring equipment is reading wrong (or you're reading it wrong).

 

[Benjaminrossboyd]

After 2 weeks in the bottle, I have chilled and tried one, with pleasing results. Nice and dark with a great head. Not sure what the story is here but I can say (as above) I have tried 2 different hydrometers and you don't need to be an expert to read one. Thanks for your advice all, I'll